The Cover of the Rolling Stones

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Okay, not exactly. But, hey, it's the Metal Scene!

The Banner!

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The Story

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This entry will expand over time as more information becomes known.

Maddax grew out of a band Andy Austin (formerly of Liquid Rainbow) formed in Miami, Florida in spring 1983. Andy played guitar and sang lead vocals in the band. Bruce Barnes played bass. The drummer's name has been forgotten, but Andy remembers that he was a body builder who lived in Kendall, a suburb of Miami.

The band, yet unnamed, played progressive hard rock, covering such bands as Rush ("Red Barchetta," "Tom Sawyer," "YYZ") and King Crimson ("21st Century Schizoid Man"), along with Andy's originals, such as "Rocket Lag," which he had written and recorded with Liquid Rainbow.

Andy Austin, 1983, Rehearsing.

David, who had worked with Andy in his first band, Liquid Rainbow, moved to Miami later that spring and joined Andy's new band. Still unnamed, the band turned in a commercial direction, expanding its range of cover songs.

In the summer of 1983 Andy decided to move back to Murfreesboro (a mid-sized city about twenty minutes southeast of Nashville, Tennessee) and enroll in the state university there. Among other things, he studied classical guitar under Jerry Roberts. He would form Critical Mass in the late fall of that same year.

Andy was replaced by Ralph Tullo on guitar and over a long period of development, which involved changes in personnel on drums (Dave Berchansky), bass (Reid Steiner), and vocals (Kim and Dwayne), the band began to move back in the direction of performing original compositions. At some point the band settled on the name Maddax. The band entered the studio in 1985 and recorded several songs. One of these, David's "End of Time," enjoyed success on local FM radio.

Andy dropped out of college, disbanded Critical Mass, and returned to Miami in 1986 to join Maddax as lead vocalist. Tomi Stotler joined soon after on drums. With several live performances pending, the departure of Reid Steiner left the band in dire need of a bass player. Andy, uncomfortable not having a guitar in his hands, offered to take up duties.

It was with this lineup - what the boys regard as the original band - that Maddax took off, performing shows throughout South Florida and recording a four song EP, featuring the songs "Speed Demon" (Andy/David), "Hearts in Chains" (Andy), "Dreamer" (Ralph), and "The Bitch" (Andy/David). Andy's "Hearts in Chains" enjoyed success on local FM radio.

The standard song list for the period:

You Can't Stop Me (Andy/David)
Speed Demon (Andy/David)
Take No Prisoners (Andy)
Hearts in Chains (Andy)
Rocket Lag (Andy)
Dreamer (Ralph)
Rock and Roll Machine (David)
End of Time (David)
Don't Keep Me Waiting (Andy)
You're Dead (Andy/David)
The Bitch (Andy/David)
Feeding the Fire (Ralph)
Let's Rock (Andy/David)

In late spring 1988, during a lengthy band hiatus, Andy and Tomi recorded a side project, a four song demo that featured two songs Andy had written and performed in Critical Mass ("Take No Prisoners" and "Don't Keep Me Waiting"), a song he wrote with David in Maddax ("You Can't Stop Me,") and a new composition "Christmas Eve (Mother)." The purpose of the demo was to re-form Critical Mass, as internal conflicts made Maddax's future uncertain. This uncertainty came to fruition as the original Maddax dissolved a short time later.

In the summer of 1988, Andy returned to Murfreesboro to re-enroll in college. There he joined Jeff Barnes, Jeff Knox, and Andy Leffler to form heavy metal outfit Numb Skull.

Tomi Stotler moved to the Washington DC area and continued performing under the Maddax name (you can hear original Maddax material by following the previous link). Tomi's band changed its name to Baby Jane in 2007. (see also Tomi's page Tomiworld.)

David moved to Murfreesboro and formed Jokers Wild. Ralph has played with various acts in the post-Maddax period.

Maddax Photos

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Band Shot

Andy Austin

David Coleman

Tomi Stotler

Ralph Tullo

Alternate Logo

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[Click to Enlarge]

Maddax

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Maddax was a heavy metal band based in South Florida during the mid-1980s. The band went through many changes, but key members during the heyday of Maddax - 1986-1987 - was Andy Austin (vocals, bass), David Coleman (vocals, guitar), Tomi Stotler (drums), and Ralph Tullo (guitar). This notable lineup came together when Andy Austin, formerly of Critical Mass, joined on vocals and bass and Tomi Stotler joined as drummer. The name is meant to convey the frantic guitar performances of founding members David Coleman and Ralph Tullo. Austin is in the process of restoring Maddax's studio and live recordings. Studio recordings consist of two 8-track sessions and a 16-track session. Live performances were recorded on four videotapes.